'This is where I fell in love with racing' - Moon Rocket kicks off joint licence in style for Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls

Moon Rocket ensured Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls enjoyed a winning start to their official association as joint licence holders when he dominated the finish of the 3m½f novice hurdle under Tom Bellamy.

The form of Moon Rocket’s winning debut over hurdles at Doncaster had been boosted earlier in the afternoon when runner-up Newton Tornado ran a fine second at Cheltenham, and the step up in trip proved no problem here.

"To do it at Southwell means quite a lot to me personally because this is where I fell in love with racing as a child many years ago," said Nicholls. "We hoped he might do something like that and that he might be a bit better than these, so it was good to see him do that.

"Expectation levels rose quite considerably when all the owners watched the horse he beat last time finish second at Cheltenham. He's an out-and-out stayer and he'll be a smart chaser next year but we could just have a bit more fun over hurdles with him this year."

Nicholls added: "We'll have a look at something better next time and perhaps a race like the River Don back where he won at Doncaster could be an option. All ground seems to come alike to him." 

With stable jockey Sean Bowen on duty at Cheltenham, brother James stepped in for the winning ride aboard the Olly Murphy--trained Alnilam in the Jordan Road Surfacing and Recycling Handicap Hurdle, at £75,000 the richest jumps race ever run at Southwell. 

A Godolphin castoff who was bred to be a Derby winner, Alnilam was winning for the second time in five starts since joining Murphy from Anthony Charlton. He had undergone a wind operation after finishing second to Aucunrisque at Ascot in November. 

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